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I Capture Photos Of Hunting Dogs In Spain That Are Abandoned After Hunting Season

“All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.”

On the day, Leena, our Galga, adopted through Magnificent Mutts, was no longer needed by her owner. She was to be hung from a tree as the tradition of the galgueros. On that day, evil was not going to win! A woman overheard what was about to happen and stepped in to save Leena’s life. The woman brought Leena to SOS Galgos in Barcelona, Spain, and that is where her journey to the US began. The woman in Spain most likely never thought about how that one single act of kindness would change the lives of so many people and in turn save many more Galgos.

The Spanish greyhound, or Galgo, is one of the most persecuted dog breeds, but very few people have ever heard of this breed. Galgos are used to hunt hares in the Spanish countryside. They spend their lives in damp, tiny, dirty holes or windowless shacks deprived of daylight, exercise and affection. Between 50.000 and 100.000 Galgos are killed or abandoned every year after the hunting season when they no longer live up to their owners expectations. The breeders, the so called galgueros, breed hoping to end up with the fastest dog to compete and hunt the hare, but overbreeding leads to the “throwing out” of thousands and thousands of Galgos every year.

Leena became a part of our family on October 21, 2012 and she was an absolute blessing and angel to have in our family. After adopting Leena we learned more about the life of the hunting dogs in Spain and knew we needed to do more. On June 23, 2013 we started an Adoption group for Galgos called Love Hope Believe Galgo Adoption. We had never been to Spain, did not know anyone in Spain and could not speak Spanish but we were determined to help find these beautiful dogs their forever homes. We transported our first group of Galgos on July 15, 2013 as with any adoption group we needed to highlight our adoptable dogs with adoptable photos. This usually is an issue faced by most shelters and adoption groups - iPhone photos or blurry photos. In August 2014, I purchased my first camera and started to learn photography, so I could help our adoptable Galgos find their homes quicker. As I learned more about photography, I learned how a photo can tell a story that has no language barrier. During a trip to Spain to volunteer at a shelter in 2014, I took a photo of a Galgo who was recently dropped off at a perrera (dog pound) and she was very fearful. I captured a photo of her that made me feel the fear she was feeling, and realized that I could possibly tell the story of The Hunting Dogs of Spain through Photography.

About the author

In 2012 my wife and I were blessed to be rescued by a Galgo named Leena. This scared little white Galgo inspired my wife and I to start Love Hope Believe Galgo Adoption (www.adoptagalgo.com) in 2013. When our group was first starting out, we were lucky enough to have a member of Hearts Speak (www.HeartsSpeak.org) take photographs of our adoptable Galgos. In 2014 I took up photography and joined HeartsSpeak to pay it forward.

What do you think ?

These dogs' photos resonate with their past pain and suffering. These were very hard to really look at for long. I hope that all of these lovelies find forever homes through these photographs and the rescue effort.

These dogs' photos resonate with their past pain and suffering. These were very hard to really look at for long. I hope that all of these lovelies find forever homes through these photographs and the rescue effort.